Public’s pulse taken on proposed WL development

The former Smitty’s grocery at Northwestern Avenue and Elm Drive has long been vacant. Developers met with West Lafayette residents Tuesday night to discuss ideas for the property.
(Photo:
File photo/Journal & Courier
)

A team of developers from Indianapolis unveiled preliminary plans Tuesday evening to transform a former Smitty’s grocery store site on Northwestern Avenue in West Lafayette.

More than 80 community members attended a meeting at Faith West to comment on the possible project and ask questions about aspirations to build a mixed-used facility with commercial and residential space.

Lor Corp. CEO Adam Hill said his firm hopes to construct a three-story building on the property. The first floor would have about 18,500 square feet of commercial space, possibly occupied in part by a restaurant and the Village Bottle Shop already operating on the site.

Hill declined to name prospective tenants but said two local business have expressed interest.

The development’s second and third floors would contain 48 “higher-end” market-rate apartments, Hill said, noting that the units wouldn’t be marketed as student housing.

Eric Anderson, a representative with Axis Architecture + Interiors, said the new building’s exterior, which has yet to be designed, will utilize contemporary materials that mesh well in the context of the existing neighborhood, which includes a significant number of single-family dwellings.

Al Parker, a former West Lafayette City Council member, was among those in attendance who expressed concerns that a three-story building built close to the corner of Northwestern and Lindberg Road could clash with the rest of the neighborhood, perhaps even driving down property values.

Current at-large council member Gerald Thomas said the prospect of developing the former Smitty’s site can only drive up property values, since a large portion of the property is covered by an eyesore of a parking lot.

“Right now it’s a mudhole,” he said.

Parker said the key is waiting for the right development to come along because any new development will likely be around for decades to come.

Other community members questioned how the development might change traffic patterns.

As currently drafted, the development would place a 122-space parking lot between the building and residential neighborhood nearby.

Hill said nestling a V-shaped building into the southeast corner of the intersection will improve the local “streetscape” and introduce an enclave for “urban living” while maximizing the distance between the building and nearby homes.

With plans to widen sidewalks in the area, the development also aims to improve walkability, Hill said.

Attorney Dan Teder said rezoning and pre-building stages could take a year.